Yes, it's very easy to forget how far we've come in a relatively short space of time -- 30 years in that case. In the early 90s CEDAR were really pioneering at the cutting edge of the technology, and digital audio storage was still on video tape rather than computers -- indeed, computer hard-drives were physically huge. massively expensive and with tiny capacities back then! PW is very fond of telling the tale of how he bought a 700MB hard drive to use with his SoundTools system for mastering CDs in the late early 90s, and it cost more than a very decent car!

I remember that Barry Fox seemed to have some kind of animosity towards Cedar - as can be seen from the tone of this article and others that I've read from him. Fortunately Cedar survived and became a success story although Cedar prices are still somewhat eye watering for most of us.

I worked my first University ten week summer break to buy a Teac A3440 four track tape recorder, a 2A mixer and Shure Sm58 mic’ for £1000 in 1978, which is £5689 in today’s money. I remember buying 8MB of RAM for an S1000 sampler, second hand, for £80. Yes I did mean megabytes. In fact I dread to think how much I’ve spent over the years on equipment but I’ve enjoyed using the gear. I read an interesting article about Virgin Manor Studios in Oxfordshire, the mansion was cheaper than the technology they put into it, now if they still had that facility it would be the other way round.

Hugh Robjohns wrote: PW is very fond of telling the tale of how he bought a 700MB hard drive to use with his SoundTools system for mastering CDs in the late early 90s, and it cost more than a very decent car!

The Quantel Paint Box, anyone remember that? Came out in 1981, a special effects box for TV graphics that started at £120,000

By 1985@ Central TV bought something similar for £60k, it didn’t do anything fancy it just replaced using a camera, vision mixer and video recorder to record a caption done by the graphics department, so when you look at it that way it was good value. I remember that camcorders for ENG were always £60k for the body, lenses were extra, at each change of technology, a bit like computers today.

Sam Spoons wrote:My wife and I bought our first house in 1976 for £5000, at the time a Tascam 48 had a retail price of £6000.

Are you sure that was a 48?

I bought one in about 1988 having wanted one since they came out in around 1984 as I couldn't run to a 58. The 48 was about £3k new (in 1984) but mine was used and pretty high mileage though still in good nick, and cost £1200 for which I'd sold a Revox B77HS. I probably should've kept the B77 as it'd be worth more now than the 48. However I did trade it up (at least I thought at the time that it was a trade up!) to a Brennel Mini 8 1" machine which sounded pretty good but was possibly more use as a training device for tape machine maintenance and soldering!

I got the price from 'The Home Studio Handbook" which, I think, was a collection of reviews from Home & Studio Recording mag. But I am relying on my memory so anything could be true..... :smirk: I think I know where the book is so I'll post a pic if I can find it.